Construction of Baglung Municipal Hospital Building Stalled

Baglung. The construction of the Baglung Municipal Hospital building has been left incomplete. The Baglung Municipality has designated the construction of this hospital as a project of pride.

The construction of the hospital building, which is being built in Paiyupata of Baglung-13, has been stalled because the construction company has not done the work despite repeated extensions of the deadline. The deadline for completion was two years, but three years have passed since the final deadline expired. However, 45 percent of the building's work is still pending. The municipality had aimed to operate the municipal hospital as an alternative to Dhaulagiri Hospital by constructing this building.

The construction company started the building construction work by signing an agreement in Asar 2078, with the aim of completing it by Asar 2080. The second extension of the deadline expired in Asar itself, while the third extension is until Asar of next year.

Even with the third extension, the hospital building construction work is only 55 percent complete. The work that was 50 percent complete two years ago has only progressed by five percent in the last 24 months. Despite repeated calls to complete the work on time, the contractor has been neglecting it, said Sovin Gharti, an engineer at the Baglung Municipality. "The behavior of bringing in some workers during the deadline extension and pretending to work did not lead to the work being done as per the target," Gharti said.

Ward Chairman of Baglung-13, Narayan Sharma Poudel, states that the construction company has been neglecting a sensitive area like a hospital, even after repeated deadline extensions. "The hope of receiving specialized services close to home is turning into disappointment due to the snail's pace of work," he said. "The villagers are suffering because the contractor is not fulfilling his duty."

The municipality started the construction of the hospital building with the budget partnership of the federal government. If the hospital building is completed on time, residents of the Balewa area, including Paiyupata, Narayansthan, Amlachaur, as well as Bhakunde, Raydanda, and residents of Jaimini Municipality, will benefit.

The municipality had signed a contract for the construction of a 15-bed hospital for Rs 12 crore 87 lakh in Asar 2078. The contractor has received Rs 4 crore 53 lakh in payment so far, said Accounts Officer Prem Prasad Sharma.

According to Ram Prasad Khanal, chief of the Municipal Health Branch, once the building construction is completed, there is a plan to send one MDGP doctor, three medical officers, four staff nurses, four health assistants, and a total of 30 health workers to provide services. Khanal stated that although there is an approved staffing for the hospital, they have not been able to request it due to the incomplete building construction.

Naresh Ojha, the head of the construction company, says that the work could not gain momentum in the first phase due to a lack of budget. Ojha believes that if the budget is paid by the municipality, they can deploy sufficient workers and complete the work. However, Raju Khadka, the Deputy Mayor of the municipality, argues that the construction company did not do any work, despite plans to make payments from last year's budget.